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April 30th, 2011 by Lena Cervantes

Natural Horsemanship Training involves schooling a horse using horse psychology rather than brute strength, and is often referred to as Horse Whispering due to the passive methods of communication used to accomplish this. The fundamental idea is that horses are herd animals that follow and obey the herd leader, who they look to for protection and commands. It is your job to gain the confidence and respect of your horse so that he looks up to you as the natural leader, who he will willingly follow.

In order to achieve this, you need to be able to empathize with your horse and learn to read his body language for signs of emotional stress or content. When you can interpret the signals your horse is sending out, you will gain a better understanding of your horse’s psyche and be able to communicate with him on a much deeper level. As you horse develops a greater level of trust with you, you should be able to solve some of the vices he may have, without resorting to bullying tactics.

The key to winning your horse’s respect is getting him to respect your space, and understand your body language and posture so he knows when you wish him to approach or move away. In order for him to understand this he needs to learn the basics: yielding and ground manners. This is achieved through negative reinforcement using pressure and release, where he is subjected to some form of adverse pressure, and is rewarded by having the pressure released as soon as he responds positively to the cues.

The methods used in natural horsemanship training to form a perfect partnership between horse and master, offer an alternative to conventional horse schooling techniques. Owing to the radical shift in attitude it brings about in most horses, and its effectiveness with problem horses, it is a movement that is rapidly gathering a lot of support.

The accent is place heavily on ground work in this method of training. The ground exercises help to develop a deep bond between horse and master by reinforcing the basic principles of trust and respect. This is achieved through play, making it is a pleasurable experience for both horse and master.

Certain tools are required to school a horse using these methods. The fundamental training aids are a knotted rope halter, which applies pressure on sensitive pressure points and is an invaluable aid, together with a 12 foot lead rope used to draw the horse to you. A carrot stick and a savvy string are additional aids that are useful in the schooling process.

So if you have a difficult horse, that has issues that just cannot be resolved with conventional methods of schooling, then give natural horsemanship methods a try. You may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. You are sure to see a positive change in attitude of your equine friend.

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April 30th, 2011 by Stan Man

Selecting The Right Finch Cages

Keeping pet birds isn’t an easy task as you have to feed them everyday and make sure that they are breeding right if you want to increase their number. Something most new owners fail to take into account is the size of the finch cages that they will be staying in. A large enough space is crucial to keeping your pets happy and healthy.

You wouldn’t think that these finches would need such a large space because of their size. A typical bird will only grow to be about four inches as an adult. However, it is used to flying around open grasslands in the wild, so this is where a large space will come in handy.

These birds are also known to be exceptionally vocal in their songs. A lone pair might not be very noticeable, but a whole flock might carry their song for several minutes. This can be a bit concerning if you live in a rather small area where their calls can bounce around the walls. The normal behavior of these pets consists of short beeps and chirps. This will slowly escalate into a more elaborate song with all of the birds joining in.

They will also have random stripes and spots all over their body. Another reason for their popularity is their vocalizations. They have an elaborate system of calls and chirps, and its not unusual to have your whole group chirping in unison. Their songs will usually start with simple beeps and chirps. After some time, other finches will join in, making the song more elaborate. The males in particular are much more inclined to have louder songs than the females.

Their social behavior usually only extends to other birds in the flock. They don’t display the same behavior with humans. Don’t think that you can normal pet or groom them anytime. Some people have had success with training them to be more accustomed to the sight and touch of humans, but this shouldn’t be expected of in every case.

If you wish to keep a pet finch, you will have to get a cage large enough to accommodate its needs. This species is very active and they are used to flying around in open areas.

Make sure that their cage or aviary is large enough for all of the finches. Even if there are only a couple of birds in one space, it should be large enough to accommodate their active lifestyle. Your cage should be at least two feet in length so that the finches are comfortable enough to fly or hop from one end to another. An aviary is probably the best choice as it will be large enough to accommodate a whole flock. It should have small spaces between the bars though to avoid having a bird fly through them. On a minimum level, there should be half an inch to keep them inside.

Larger aviaries that you can place outdoors will be much appreciated by your pets. However, you must consider the space between the bars to keep them inside. This should be at least half an inch between bars. Metal or wood cages are okay, but brass should not be used because of the danger of toxins. You can also add swings in the finch cages to keep them happy.

When you enjoy raising these tiny songsters, finch cages are a requirement for the comfort and safety of the birds. Find a variety of cages for finches by checking shops and boutiques online.

April 29th, 2011 by Sara Smart

It finally happened: I got to the bottom of the bag of hypoallergenic food for the dog and it was too late to get to the pet store for more. This led me to make a BARF supply for our dog that would last a week from the food stuff just sitting in the kitchen and refrigerator. When I was finished mixing, I wrapped in plastic packs 3 patties of about 1/2 pound each–enough for one pack of three per day frozen for an entire week. It took me 40 minutes or so to mix it and wrap it. I was pretty pleased with myself.

A little insecure at first, I gave our dog three patties each day–morning, noon and night. Our dog is big, so it didn’t seem like enough food. My partner was referring to them sarcastically as little puppy “snacks.”

Still feeling unsure, I was watching our dog get more and more lively. He seemed like a puppy again–playful, feisty, happy and energetic. And amazingly he stopped his constant crying. Entirely stopped crying. I was dumbfounded.

I read all kinds of blogs (including an article or two on my own blogs) that said whining would stop if a dog got all the healthy food stuffs it needs, but I didn’t really believe it. Our dog is relentless.

Don’t get me wrong. We love us our Frank! He just happens to be a “bad, bad dog.”

The BARF Diet has returned to us our pup and he is 7 years old. I made him a second week of BARF Diet patties and he is happy as can be with his food. He is actually going and getting his toy to get us to play. He hasn’t done that in years.

I am shocked by this. Truly shocked. If your dog has big lethargy, you might consider a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food Diet. It might bring your dog back from the brink like it did mine.

Stay tuned. We are always testing things on Frank. He is a great Hypoallergenic Dog Food dog food tester.

Before buying dog food, check out information on our blogs on a BARF Diet for your dog, as well as other Hypoallergenic Dog Food Options.

April 28th, 2011 by Walton Hong

You will find some habits every single puppy lover wants to teach their puppy. Things like house training and walking with a leash are behaviors all puppies are required to learn. But then you’ll find what could possibly be called the “owner optional” habits. One such example is no matter if or not you might let your puppy on your furniture. Some puppy owners love it and even encourage their furry companions to jump up on the sofa for some cuddle time. But for other people, a dog lying on furniture intended for human beings is intolerable. The armchair may be too expensive, the puppy might be of a breed that tends to shed, or the owner might just think it’s poor manners, specially when the puppy leaps on the lap of guests. So how do you convince your pup not to make himself comfortable on what appears to be the softest spot of the home?

The armchair may possibly be too high-priced, the puppy may be of a breed that tends to shed, or the owner may possibly just think it is poor manners, in particular when the puppy leaps on the lap of guests. So how would you convince your pup not to make himself comfortable on what seems to be the softest spot of the home?

The present thinking about training your puppy is to reward him when he does the job right as opposed to punish him when he messes up. Once you spot your dog on your favorite couch or chair, you may make an immediate incentive by holding out a dog treat far away enough that he has to leave the couch to get it. When his four feet are on the floor, make a sound cue like snapping your fingers or clicking your tongue or depressing a mechanical clicker and right away feed him the treat. Soon the puppy will figure out what action gets him a click and that the click means a treat.

You’ll be able to also make your furniture less accessible or appealing to your puppy so he does not develop the habit of lying on it in the very first place. Keep doors to the rooms you don’t want him in closed. Put the cushions of your furniture on edge to take away that appealingly surface. Try spraying the furniture with smells you don’t mind but your puppy will, like a strongly scented lemon air freshener. You can even hide near the vicinity of the furniture and as soon as your puppy lands on the sofa and blast a fog horn. Anything that’s humane but gets his attention is acceptable.

And be certain there’s a kennel or bed or just a blanket nearby where your puppy can lie down. You would like him to feel that your home is his home, just not every single corner of it.

Pet Places offers resources on how to choose which puppies to buy and where you can buy puppies.

April 27th, 2011 by Wendon Lee

When a puppy growls, even human beings may be frightened. And that’s the key reason why some puppies do growl. They use it as a means of warning and an expression of aggression, an instinct left over from their wolf ancestors who growled to maintain away other dangerous creatures. Puppies do occasionally engage in a sort of “playful” growling when involved in vigorous and com petitive games, like pulling on one end of a blanket while you pull on the other. While there’s usually no mistaking it for the actual thing, even this sort of growling shouldn’t be kept up for too lengthy prior to you stop to let your puppy calm down. In virtually all other instances, growling is often a habit you do not want your puppy to get into.

A typical motivation for your puppy’s growling is an approaching stranger (human or canine) which prompts your puppy to let the intruder know he is entering your puppy’s “turf.” Yet another growl is intended to safeguard one thing of value to your puppy, like his food, if he is concerned that another creature wants to steal it.

(A dog that has just develop into a brand new mother may well growl to shield some thing really valuable: her babies.) And as aggressive as a growl can sound, at times it’s in fact an expression of fear of imminent physical danger on the component of the puppy. Typically speaking, the lower the growl, the more most likely it truly is a warning that a bite is imminent, specially if the growl is long, the puppy’s body is stiff, and he is looking straight into the eyes of the individual or animal he is confronting.

The one common aspect of all such non-playful growls is that none of them must be tolerated. As is the case with so many puppy complications, punishment for growling will not work. What does work is a sharp “No!” when you have already started employing this word as a command for him to stop whatever behavior he is engaging in that you do not like. When the growling ceases, a warm “Good Dog!” would then be appropriate. If he seems to be growling as a result of a particular fear or concern, you may investigate it at that point, but only right after you may have gotten the growling to quit.

If the growling persists, you might take into account a expert trainer who has expertise dealing with what is perhaps probably the most difficult puppy behavior to correct.

Pet Places provides resources on how you can choose which puppy to buy and how to take care of puppies.